If you have your own business that you run from home, or you work remotely for another company, it is essential to stay on top of business security. Even if working from home is only temporary while on lockdown because of the coronavirus, it is still essential.
When using electronic devices and accessing information from online databases, you need to ensure that everything you are using is secure so that your business is protected from cybercrime. When you work in an office, it will be somebody else’s job to take care of cybersecurity, but when you work from home, you need to be more aware of the things that can happen, and how to prevent them.
Below are some tips on how to securely work from home:
Keep everything up to date
Computer operating systems and other software that you use on your computer will be regularly updated by the creators to ensure that they fix any bugs or to make it more secure. If you don’t let these new updates install onto your computer, you are leaving weaknesses in the software that can be more easily exploited by criminals committing cybercrime.
If you forget to check regularly for updates, you should enable automatic updates, so that every time there is an update, it gets updated straight away.
Change your Wi-Fi password
If you don’t have a password to connect to your Wi-Fi, make sure that you create one. If you do have a Wi-Fi password, but it is still the default one that came with the router, make sure that you change it. If you don’t change your password, a cyber attacker could get access to your password and then access to the devices that use them, and anything that you send through the router.
Control who can access what
If you are in charge of employees that work from home, you may want to control what your employees have access to. This can be a crucial part of ensuring your business is secure, so if someone doesn’t need to see certain documents to be able to do their job, make sure that they don’t have access to them. You could use an Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) platform that will help you to manage users and access requirements easily.
Use a VPN
If you do not have a device given to you by your employer or one that you use just for business, then you may want to make use of a VPN. VPN stands for a virtual private network, and they are a way to give you an extra layer of security as they encrypt data that is in transit, mask your location, and hide your IP address. It is especially important to use a VPN when you are connected to a public Wi-Fi network.
Install antivirus software
Antivirus software is vital for any computer, but especially for devices being used for business. It is to ensure your devices have extra security measures to prevent any malware from compromising any of your hard work.
